Spring Festival

Chinese New Year

• Chinese new year is the longest chronological record in history, dating from about 2600 B.C. The Chinese Lunar calendar is a yearly one, with the start of the lunar year being based on the cycles of the moon. Because of this cyclic dating, the beginning of the year can fall anywhere between late January and the middle of February.

• Chinese new year starts with the new Moon on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The 15th day of the new year is called Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lantern in a parade.

Chinese New Year Dates

Animal Branch New Year dates

鼠  Rat 子  Zǐ February 19, 1996 February 7, 2008

牛  Ox 丑  Chǒu February 7, 1997 January 26, 2009

虎  Tiger 寅  Yín January 28, 1998 February 14, 2010

兔  Rabbit 卯  Mǎo February 16, 1999 February 3, 2011

龍  Dragon 辰  Chén February 5, 2000 January 23, 2012

蛇  Snake 巳  Sì January 24, 2001 February 10, 2013

馬  Horse 午  Wǔ February 12, 2002 January 31, 2014

羊  Sheep 未  Wèi February 1, 2003 February 19, 2015

猴  Monkey 申  Shēn January 22, 2004 February 8, 2016

雞  Rooster 酉  Yǒu February 9, 2005 January 28, 2017

狗  Dog 戌  Xū January 29, 2006 February 16, 2018

豬  Pig 亥  Hài February 18, 2007 February 5, 2019

Preparation

• Usually preparations start one month before the new year. The preparation includes thoroughly cleaning and decorating the house, buying new clothes, and preparing enough food for at least two weeks.

Presents and Gifts

• The only present on Chinese new year is Money!!!!Same is in the case of Wedding and Birthday. The money is usually packed in a red packet/envelop decorated with an appropriate symbol, greeting or lucky sign.

• If flowers open on the New Year’s Day it is believed as a symbol of good luck. The New year is also a time to settle debts, if not both the debtor and his family will face shame.

• Prior to Chinese New Year’s Day, Chinese families decorate their living rooms with vases of pretty blossoms, platters of oranges and tangerines and a candy tray with eight different types of dried fruit sweets. On the walls and doors are poetic couplets, happy wishes written on red paper.

Forbidden Items

• All sharp tools (knives, etc.) are hidden away since they may sever good fortune from the family.

• No foul language or unlucky words are used because it will bring bad luck to the family.

• Fragile items are carried with safety, because if anything breaks the family will suffer for seven years.

New Year’s Eve

• New Year’s Eve is the time for families. The new year eve’s dinner is the biggest dinner od the year. The dinner is full of foods having symbolic meanings such as Chinese dumplings implying wealth since they have shape of ancient Chinese gold and silver ingots.

Firecrackers

• Firecrackers are set off as soon as the new year arrives. You can hear this or see firecrackers everywhere and this usually lasts for a few hours. Traditionally fireworks are the sign of getting rid of the old and welcoming new year.

Dragon Dance

• The Dragon dance is as important part of the Chinese festivals. It was first performed to please the Dragon who is the Lord of Water, to ask for rain in drought days. Gradually it became an entertainment and dance form in festive occasions, usually during the Spring Festival and Lantern Festival.

• The Dragons usually ranging from several meters to more than 100 meters long are mainly made up of bamboo, wood, rattan, cloth and paper

Lantern Festival

• The 15th of the first month is marked as the last day of the celebrations. It is the time of the family reunion again, where families eat a kind of cake which looks like a table tennis ball made of sticky rice and stuffing. Everyone eats a few on Lantern festival, which symbolizes the family will stick together.

Ancestors

• The presence of the ancestors is acknowledged on New Year’s Eve with a dinner arranged for them at the family banquet table. The spirits of ancestors, together with the living, celebrate the onset of the New Year as one of the great community. The communal feast is called ‘’surrounding the stove’’ or ‘’wei lu’’. It symbolizes family unity and honors the past and present generations.